Kanye Was Supposed To Collab With Adidas 12 Years Ago?

In the latest issue of sneaker magazine Crepe City, adidas Creative Consultant Gary Aspden revealed that Ye met with Adidas back in 2006 on a potential sneaker collab… which obviously never hit the market.

“In 2006 there were meetings held between Kanye West and adidas, back before he had ever done a trainer collaboration with anyone,” he writes. “As I was in charge of adidas’s Entertainment Division at the time I was asked to lead those discussions along with one of the team who was based over there. We met with Kanye in the studio in L.A. where he was recording — I was impressed by the fact that he had no big entourage, just him and his manager Don. He was immediately welcoming and respectful when he realised I had been instrumental in that first adidas x BAPE collaboration (at the time he was a big fan of A Bathing Ape and adidas Originals). The discussion revolved around working with adidas on versions of the Rod Laver Vintage which was his favourite shoe at that time.”

Although the shoe from this meeting never came out, Aspden says it’s likely it wouldn’t have made the impact of the Yeezy Boost line today. “The result of that I believe has been something far more substantial than anything that was potentially on the table back in 2006,” he writes.

He goes on to say that even 10 years ago, Kanye still saw himself as a designer first.